• In 2024, the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) and the Albanian Competition Authority (ACA) collaborated under the TAIEX program.
• The project included workshops and an expert mission by UOKiK in Tirana, as well as a study visit of ACA representatives to Poland.
• The goal of the project was to support ACA in enforcing and promoting competition law in the context of Albania's EU accession negotiations.

TAIEX is one of the European Union's key development cooperation programs aimed at reforming public administration. Projects within its framework primarily involve knowledge sharing and the exchange of best practices between EU member state institutions and their counterparts in neighboring countries. The Western Balkans are one of the priority regions of the EU's integration policy, and Albania plays a significant role here, having conducted formal accession negotiations since 2022.

An example of such a TAIEX project was the collaboration between UOKiK experts and the Albanian Competition Authority in the field of competition protection, implemented in 2024 through three events: workshops and an expert mission by UOKiK in Tirana, and a study visit by ACA representatives to Warsaw. The primary objective was to support the Albanian partner in enforcing competition law and promoting it among businesses and partner institutions in the context of Albania's planned EU accession.

The first workshops, held in Tirana on May 7-8, focused on practical aspects of conducting antitrust proceedings, new challenges faced by competition authorities in sensitive markets, and their cooperation with sector regulators. Participants included representatives of ACA and its regular public administration partners.

The next opportunity to exchange best practices was the expert mission in Tirana, held on November 4-6, 2024. UOKiK and ACA experts discussed topics such as inspections, countering bid-rigging, and methods to enhance the effectiveness of institutions tasked with competition protection.

The final event of the TAIEX project was a study visit by ACA leadership and experts to UOKiK in Warsaw on December 9-11, 2024. A key element of this visit was the signing of a bilateral agreement aimed at strengthening cooperation between the parties in enforcing competition law and policy. The meeting also provided an opportunity to discuss effective institutional management, legislative processes, unfair commercial practices in the agricultural sector, merger control, as well as communication and educational activities.